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COLORED TROOPS IN THE 
FRENCH ARMY 




A REPORT 



FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF STATE RELATING TO 

THE COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY AND 

THE NUMBER OF FRENCH COLONIAL TROOPS 

IN THE OCCUPIED TERRITORY 




\\jx:j^7^\-2Uk 



PRESENTED BY MR. LODGE 
February 15 (calendar day, February 14), 1921. — Ordered to be printed 



WASHINGTON 

GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 

1921 



\ 



I 









LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL. 



Department of State, 
Washington, February I4, 1921, 
Hon. Henry Cabot Lodge, 

United States Senate. 
Sir : In response to an informal request made by your secretary of 
Mr. Bliss, of this department, on February 12, 1921, I have the honor 
to inclose for your consideration and that of your committee a copy 
of a letter, with its inclosures which I wrote to Mr. Porter, chairman 
of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House, on the subject of 
French black troops on the Rhine; also a copy of a later letter to 
Mr. Porter, with its inclosure, a copy of a telegram from Mr. Wallace, 
giving the latest figures as to the number of French colonial troops 
now in the occupied territory. 
I have the honor to be, sir. 
Your obedient servant, 

Norman H. Davis, 

Acting Secretary. 



COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

January 17, 1921. 
Hon. Stephen G. Porter, 

House of Representatives. 

Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of 
January 10, 1921, with which you inclose a copy of House joint reso- 
lution No. 433, introduced by Mr. Britten, and request that I furnish 
the Committee on Foreign Affairs with such facts concerning the 
conduct of French colored troops in the occupied territories of Ger- 
many as may be in the possession of the Department of State. 

Protests concerning the conduct of French black troops in the 
Rhenish area began to reach the department toward the end of May, 
1920. On June 12, 1920, a telegram was sent to the American em- 
bassy in Paris requesting information as to the truth of these allega- 
tions and asking what representations might be made to the French 
Government, if the reports appeared to have a basis of fact. (Ap- 
pendix I). On June 25, 1920, Mr. Wallace telegraphed that an in- 
vestigation had been promptly started and that he would arrange 
with Gen. Allen, in command of the American troops at Coblentz, 
to secure all possible facts. In a further telegram of this same date 
Mr. Wallace gave a short summary of the number of coloni.Rl troops 
-employed by the French in the occupied territories, reported what 
Mr. Dresel, American commissioner in Berlin, had told him of the 
agitation in Germany, and suggested that he speak informally of the 
matter to M. Millerand. (Appendix II.) The Department of State 
authorized Mr. Wallace to speak to M. Millerand on the subject, and 
he reported on eluly 22 that this had been done. (Appendix II.) 

In the meantime, on June 22, the department telegraphed Gen. 
Allen for such information as he might be able to furnish. This 
telegram was answered shortly on June 26, giving the number and 
origin of French colonial troops in the occupied region and an official 
report of the number of complaints made to the French during the 
period of occupation and the disposition made of these complaints. 
(Appendix IV.) On July 2 Gen. Allen submitted a full and detailed 
report on the matter (Appendix V), in which he pointed out that the 
allegations of wholesale atrocities were false and intended for political 
propaganda, that there had been cases of serious misbehavior which 
had been punished by the French military authorities, that the 
number of convictions indicated an earnest effort on the part of the 
French authorities to deal justly with the accusations, and that 
the discipline of the Senegalese troops had not always been good. 
I especially commend this report to your attention as a clear and 
impartial statement of the case. That the French are attempting to 
maintain good relations with the people of the territory occupied by 
their armies is made evident in a telegram from Gen. Allen of August 
19, in which he cites a French order instructing that ''all members 
of the Army must be dignified, courteous, and just, thus setting the 
example to the German population of tolerance in order that good 
will and mutual respect may be established and promoted and ill 
will and hatred overcome." (Appendix VI.) 

5 



6 COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

The department also consulted in this matter the American 
commissioner in Berlin, stating on June 15, 1920, that it was receiving- 
many protests against the alleged misconduct of French black troops 
and that the phrasing of the protests suggested possible inspiration 
from a propaganda bureau. (Appendix VII.) Mr. Dresel replied 
that protests in Germany were general, emanating from all classes 
and political parties, that an extensive press propaganda had been 
carried on and that a mass meeting of protest was soon to be held in 
Berlin at which certain Americans were to speak. Mr. Dresel inclosed 
a memorandum on this subject. You will note in this memo- 
randum which includes translations from the German press and a 
summary of the discussion in the Reichstag, various examples of 
gross exaggeration of facts, as, for example, the. statement of the 
German foreign minister that France had transplanted '^50,000 
black and colored troops to the heart of white Europe,'' whereas 
Gen. Allen stated that the number of such troops, including regiments 
of Arabs, was in the vicinity of 20,000. Ma}^ I call your particular 
attention in this memorandum also to the translation of the French 
answer to the German protests ? I understand that there has been 
no official interchange of notes between the French and German 
Governments. 

Mr. Dresel forwarded to the department also the original German 
edition of the pamphlet, ^'Colored Frenchmen on the Rhine," the 
American edition of which, published b}' the New Times of Chicago^ 
appears to be a literal translation with the addition of the words^ 
''An appeal of white women to American womanhood." It is 
perhaps worth noting that this pamphlet was published not in the 
Rhineland, but in Berlin, and that the avoidance of names makes it 
impossible to verify or disprove the specific allegations. Furthermore 
as Mr. Dresel has pointed out to the department, practically all the 
alleged instances of misconduct by the French black troops cited in 
the German press give no reference to date or place and are therefore 
of little value as evidence. 

On July 15 the American commissioner in Berlin sent to the 
department a translation of an account of the so-called American 
protest meeting against the use by France of colored troops in the 
Rhineland area, which was held in Berlin on the evening of July 4. 
In his covering dispatch Mr. Dresel pointed out that the addresses 
were bitterly anti-American as well as anti-French and that Miss 
Ray Beveridge and Mr. Scheffauer, both American citizens, were 
particularly vehement in their attacks on the American Government. 
I have thought it worth while to inclose this dispatch, with the 
accompanying translation, to call your attention to the competence 
of the witnesses on whose allegations this propaganda appears in 
large measure to be based. 

Miss Ray Beveridge was formerly employed by the German 
embassy in Washington and was the organizer of ''embargo con- 
ference" meetings in 1915. She states that she held a public meeting 
in the Reichstag Building to protest against the signing of the peace 
treaty. She refers to the former Emperor of Germany as "my 
Kaiser." Mr. Edwin Emerson, formerly a newspaper man in Berlin 
connected with the antially Continental Times, has been living in 
Germany since 1917. During and since the war he has been carry- 
ing on antiallied propaganda work in Germany. John W. DeKay 



COLORED TROOPS IE" THE FRENCH ARMY. 7 

was identified with the Huerta dictatorship and attempted to import 
into Mexico rifles and ammunition, which were intercepted by the 
United States at Vera Cruz. He was indicted on nine counts in New 
York in 1913 for obtaining money on false pretenses and is a fugitive 
from justice in the Atlantic National Bank case. He is said to be 
the treasurer of the bolshevist part}^ in Switzerland. He carried a 
Mexican passport in December, 1920, and was at one time granted 
a German passport by the German legation in Berne. Mr. H. G. 
Scheffauer, born in San Francisco in 1878, has lived in Germany 
since 1913. As coeditor of the Continental Times he contributed 
an ti- American articles under assumed names. On January 6, 1919, 
he was indicted for treason — for writing, publishing, and distributing 
articles and propaganda in aid of the German cause. These people 
call themselves Americans, and as far as the department knows are 
the authors of most of the stories distributed in this country con- 
cerning the misconduct of the French black troops. It is necessary 
to speak of the Englishman, E. D. Morel, only because he is speci- 
fically mentioned in House joint resolution No. 433. Mr. Morel was, 
before the war, strongly anti-French and anti-Belgian. During the 
Moroccan crisis he upheld German}^ and during the war was indicted 
under the defense of the realm act for sending uncensored letters to 
Switzerland. His articles on the ''Black Terror" were published in 
the London Daily Herald, an extremely radical paper alleged to be 
subsidized by the Russian soviet government. 

Finally, it should be called to the attention of your committee that 
these accusations against the French troops are also reaching Amer- 
ica direct from Germany. As evidence of this there are inclosed 
photostat copies of two printed appeals sent in the mail from Germany 
to American citizens and by them forwarded to the department. 
The leaflet entitled ''The Black EviF' reached America inclosed in 
a German magazine. You will note that there is no printer's mark 
and that the American flag at the top is evidently intended to indi- 
cate that it was printed in America. Several of these leaflets have 
reached the department and copies have been sent to the Postmaster 
General for such action as he may see fit to take. The second leaflet, 
entitled "An Appeal to Americans," contains the accusation against 
the French colored troops only as a further argument for American 
assistance. 

As soon as the department received word of the introduction of 
House joint resolution No. 433 I telegraphed to Mr. Wallace for 
information as to the present personnel of the French troops of 
occupation. When his answer is received I shall be pleased to 
forward it to you. May I, however, call your attention to the fact 
that no recent allegations of misconduct of French soldiers have been 
made so far as the department is informed, all those detailed in the 
various published statements referring to a time prior to June 1, 1920. 

In consideration of what I have said above, the facts that, although 
there were undoubtedly outrages, those proved guilty have been 
punished; that official American testimony as well as that given by 
many reputable Germans largely disproves the specific but unveri- 
fiable charges made by witnesses whose impartiality is certainly 
questionable; that the accusations appear to be a method of anti- 
French propaganda; that the French have long since withdrawn the 



8 COLOrvEI) TEOOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

Senegalese troops which were the only pure Negro troops used; that 
there appear to be no accusations against the behavior of such 
French colonial troops as remain in the occupied territories; that Mr. 
Wallace has already discussed the matter with the French prime 
minister, it would appear to me inadvisable that the American 
Government snould be asked to take any further action at the present 
time. 

I am very glad to be able to furnish you with full information in 
this matter and request only that the inclosures herewith be con- 
sidered as for your confidential use and that of the members of your 
committee. 

I have the honor to be, sir, 
Your obedient servant, 

Norman H. Davis, 

Acting Secretary. 

Appendix I. 

June 12, 1920. 
American Embassy, Paris: 

Department is receiving telegrams and letters protesting against 
the use of African troops in occupied Germany by the French. Please 
give your views as to the truth of the accusations being made against 
the behavior of these troops and whether you believe these accusa- 
tions are well founded. Advise department what you deem advisable 
in the way of representations to the French Government on this 
subject. It is not department's desire to lend too credulous an ear 
to these sensational reports and yet it may be of interest to the 
French Government to know that such reports are being persistently 
circulated and that they are having a harmful effect on public opinion, 
not bemg fully refuted. 

Colby. 

Appendix II. 

Paris, June 25, 1920. 
Secretary of State, 

WasMngton: 

Gen. Allen reports that there are at present in occupied Germany 
regiments of Moroccans, Algerians, Zouaves, and Malgaches, but no 
Senegalese. According to my understanding the Algerian troops 
comprise natives of Algeria oif French and French Arab stock, and 
some Mahomedans, not Negroes. The Moroccan regiments comprise 
Arabs and Mahomedans, not Negroes. The Malgaches are Malays 
from Madagascar, and the Zouaves are special infantry regiments, 
not Negroes. 

Mixed blacks. Senegalese are Negroes. 

The American commissioner states that agitation against the black 
troops is carried on by papers of all political opinions, that the German 
Government has formally protested to the French Government, that 
complaints have come from men of all classes, that the papers claim 
that America should understand the situation on account of our 
Negro question and charge that assaults have been made on German 
women, but that the facts can not be checked and that the American 
consul reported deep anger of population of Frankfort and vicinity 



COLOKED TROOPS IE" THE FEENCH ARMY. 9 

over use of black troops. These troops have been withdrawn. 
French newspapers have denied German press reports on several 
occasions, but I have seen no official denial in the press or elsewhere. 

Minister of War Lefevre, speaking in the chamber on June 17 
regarding the army budget and the future of the French black troops, 
stated: '^As for our black troops, we shall not tolerate the interested 
criticisms which are being made on the other side of the Rhine." 

It is my belief that it would be a friendly act to inform Millerand 
that department is receiving many telegrams and letters of protest 
and that it may interest the French Government to know that the 
persistent reports are not fully refuted and are having a harmful 
effect upon public opinion. 

Wallace. 

Appendix III. 

Paris, July 22, 1920. 
Secretary of State, 

Washington J D. C: 
1431, July 22, 10 p. m. 

Your 1185, June 29, 5 p. m. I have spoken in accordance w^ith 
authorization to Millerand, who answered that he was quite aware 
of the campaign referred to and mentioned the recent activities in 
Berlin of an American woman. He expressed appreciation of the 
information that the reports had not been fully refuted and said 
he would take the necessary steps to that end. 

Wallace. 

Appendix IV. 

Coblenz, July 26, 1920. 
Secretary of State, 

Washington: 
Your June 22, 5 p. m., regarding alleged mistreatment by French 
colored troops of German women. The average number of French 
Negro troops on the Rhine from January, 1919, to June, 1920, was 
5,200. The number of North African troops, Arabs, and mixed 
blood, 20,000. All regiments of pure Negroes (Senegalese) were 
removed June 5, one regiment of Madagascar troops and a few indi- 
vidual Negro or Negroid remaining in other colonial troops. During 
entire period of occupation there were 66 cases of actual or alleged 
rape, sodomy, or similar offenses reported to French officials. The 
action taken resulted in 28 convictions, 11 acquittals, the other cases 
not being completed. The offenses included some insulting pro- 
posals and offensive conduct toward German women. The sentences 
varied from 30 days, to 10 years, confmement. Widespread reports 
and complaints in the German press are bas(3d on the foregoing cases 
and some others not officially reported to French officials, and while 
these reports have some foundation they are undoubtedly greatly 
exaggerated and are being used as propaganda against the French 
troops and are inspired by possibilities of war animosity. Investi- 
gation continuing. Full report follows. 



10 COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

Appendix V. 

Interallied Rhineland High Commission, 

American Department, 

Coblem, Germany, July 2, 1920. 
Sir: 1. In compliance with your cablegram of June 22, 1920, 
regarding alleged mistreatment of German women by French colored 
troops, and in elaboration of my cablegram of June 28, I submit 
the following report, based on a personal mvestigation conducted 
by Col. Le Vert Coleman, C. A. C, American liaison officer with the 
commanding general of the allied forces of occupation. 

2. During the period from January, 1919, to June 1, 1920: 

(fl) The average number of Negro troops in the French Army of 
the Rhiiie was 5,200 men. 

(//) The average number of French colonial troops composed of 
natives of Africa not of pure Negro blood, including distinct races 
such as Arabs from Algeria, Moroccans, etc., and mixed blood races, 
such as the Malgaches from Madagascar, who are Negroids, was 20,000 
men. Durmg the entire period from the first day of the occupation 
in 1918, to the 1st of June, 1920, 66 cases of alleged rape, attempted 
rape, sodomy, or attempted sodomy have been officially reported to 
the French military authorities, against their colored colonial troops 
in the occupied territories of the Rhinelands. Among these cases, 
there have been 28 convictions, including several cases where the 
intent was not fully proved, but punishment v>'as given by minor 
courts corresponding to our summary and garrison courts, for indecent 
proposals and obscene handling of women and girls against their will. 
There have been 11 acquittals. There have been 23 investigatioAS 
leading to trials, the results of v/hich have not been published yet. 
There have been 6 cases where the offenders could not be found. 
The penalties inflicted have been varied; from 10 years at hard labor 
for aggravated cases of rape, to 30 days in prison for indecent mis- 
handling of women. 

3. At the present time, the Senegalese brigade having all left 
the Rhinelands between June 1 and 6, 1920, there actually remains 
but one regiment of troops of Negroid origin, the First Regiment of 
Chasseurs Malgaches. There are, however, a few individual Negroes 
or Negroids in the other French colonial regiments. 

4. A very violent neswpaner campaign attackm^ the French 
colonial troops, especially the Negro troops, broke out simultaneously 
throughout Germanv coincident with the time of the French evacua- 
tion of Frankfurt and Darmstadt, and has continued up to the present 
time. It is uncjuestionably a fact that many gross exaggerations 
were circulated in the German press concernhig the conduct of the 
French colonial troops. The allegations in the German press have 
been, for the most part, so indefinite as to time and place, and cir- 
cumstance, as to leave it impracticable to verify the alleged facts, 
or to disprove them. 

5. After all proper allowance is made for the natural difficulties, 
which always are to be expected in tracing crimes of this nature, 
due to the shame and distress of the victims, the great mass of the 
articles in the German press, by the simultaneous appearance all 
over Germany, and by the failure to cite time, place, and circum- 
stance sufficiently clear to enable the truth to be ascertained, give 



COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 11 

to an impartial observer the impression of an adroit political move 
which would tend to sow antipathy to France in the other lands of 
the allied and associated powers, especially in America, where the 
Negro question is always capable of arousing feeling. 

6. The Rheinische Zeitung and the Kolnische Volkszeitung, 
recently suspended for publishing attacks on the French colored 
colonial troops, admit under date of June 15, that they employed cer- 
tain terms and expressions which they might better have omitted, due 
to the imperfection of the hews coming for the most part from outside 
sources, says the Volkszeitung, and Irom Berlin says the Rheinische 
Zeitung. This tends to bear out the opinion noted above, which is 
further strengthened by dissentant voices in the South German press 
which protests against exaggerated accusations by other German 
papers agamst colored French troops. 

7. These exaggerated attacks in the German press outside of the 
Rhinelands have, in several cases, been refuted by responsible officials 
(German) and citizens of the Rhmelands. 

Herr Kohler, mayor of Worms; Herr Bischoff, police commis- 
sioner of Worms, referring to the Senegalese troops, reports to the 
Interallied Rhineland High Commission, that with the exception of 
one incident, the Senegalese troops in Worms have not committed 
any misdemeanor and have been under perfect discipline during their 
entire stay in Worms. 

Herr Levy, from Kreuznach, and several Germans, have written 
open letters protesting against what they term unfair exaggerations 
in the German press against the troops. 

8. Among gross exaggerations in the German press may be cited 
the following: 

(a) Claim that there are 40,000 colored French troops in the 
Palatina^te. 

(b) Claim that Frankfort was occupied by 20,000 men entirely 
formed of Negro (Senegalese) troops. French official report shows 
that no Senegalese occupied Frankfort, but first Moroccan and Algerian 
tirailleurs and later French troops (white). 

(c) Numerous atrocities in the Saar, where young women are said 
to have been forcibly abducted, raped, mutilated, killed, and their 
bodies thrown into manure piles. The burgermeister of Saarbrucken, 
the inspector of the Caserne Petain, Herr Welsch, proprietor of the 
manure pile; Wilhelm Roth, caretaker; Herr Geppert, employee, 
have all given written and oral testimony wholly refuting the accu- 
sations. 

{d) Claim of the German press that large numbers of young Aus- 
trian girls who had come to the vicinity of Mainz to get away from 
the famine in Austria were raped. The Austrian Government is 
reported to have made an investigation through its consular service 
and to have found that not a single such case had occurred. 

(e) Investigation by Col. Bonvialle, commanding the Twelfth 
Tirailleurs, May 21, 1920, concerning charges of sodomy near Eus- 
kirchen, with medical report, indicates that the charges could not 
be sustained. 

(/) Claims in the Nauen Radio Service on April 29, 1920, tliat the 
working people of Alsace-Lorraine had protested, demanding the 
removal of the Moroccan division from Alsace-Lorraine, when there 
was no part of those troops in Alsace-Lorraine. 



12 COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

F 9. On the other hand, undoubtedly many instances have occurred 
where women or girls have been assaulted and some where boys and 
men have been sodomized by members of the French colored colonial 
troops. See report above as to the official figures. There are 
undoubtedly cases which are not included in the official figures, due to 
the natural desire to keep out of obscene notoriety. For example, 
a case of attempted assault was reported June 14, 1920, from Saar- 
brucken which is not included in the French official figures. Some 
cases will never come to light, due to the natural feeling of shame 
of the women concerned, but they are, in my opinion, cases such as 
generally occur in any land when soldiery is for a long time quartered 
upon the population. 

10. The impression gained from contact with and observation of 
the French colonial troops is that, as a general rule, they are quiet, 
orderly, and well behaved. Discipline has a purely relative value 
and is hardly of the same order as that which we would require. 
That the discipline of the Senegalese brigade was not always good, 
is established by the incidents which recently occurred at Marseille, 
when a part of these troops committed serious infractions of discipline 
when ordered aboard their transports. 

11. The attitude of certain classes of German women toward the 
colored troops has been such as to incite trouble. On account of the 
very unsettled economic conditions, and for other causes growing out 
of the World War, prostitution is abnormally engaged in and many 
German prostitutes and women of loose character have openly made 
advances to the colored soldiers, as evidenced by numerous love 
letters and photographs which are now on file in the official records 
and which have been sent by German women to colored French 
soldiers. Several cases have occurred of marriages of German 
women with French Negro soldiers. One German girl of a first-class 
burgher family, her father a very high city functionary of a prominent 
city in the Rhinelands, recently procured a passport to rejoin her 
fiance in Marseille. He was a Negro sergeant. Other Negro 
soldiers have had French wives here, and the color line is not regarded 
either by the French or the Germans as we regard it in America; to 
keep the white race pure. At Ludwigshafen, when the Seventh 
Tirailleurs left for Frankfurt, patrols had to be sent out to drive away 
the German women from the barracks, where they were kissing the 
colored troops through the window gratings. 

CONCLUSIONS. 

I. The wholesale atrocities by French Negro colonial troops 
alleged in the German press, such as the alleged abductions, followed 
by rape, mutilation, murder, and concealment of the bodies of the 
victims are false and intended for political propaganda. 

II. A number of cases of rape, attempted rape, sodomy, attempted 
sodomy, and obscene mishandling of women and girls have occurred 
on the part of French Negro colonial troops in the Rhinelands. These 
cases have been occasional and in restricted numbers, not general or 
widespread. The French military authorities have repressed them 
severely in most cases and have made a very serious effort to stamp 
the evil out. The amount of evidence necessary to convict in such 
cases is a very delicate matter to express opinion upon. However, 



COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 13 

the number of acquittals is not large and there is nothing surprising 
about these acquittals, except in one case where a girl of 14 years was 
known carnally. In this case the acquittal followed upon the claim 
that the girl had consented. 

III. As a rule the number of convictions and the thoroughness of 
the reports of the investigations and trials indicate the very earnest 
effort of the French trial authorities to do justice and to stamp out 
the evil by stern repressive measures. That their sentences are often 
milder than ours would be is largely due to extenuating circum- 
stances found in the evidence according to their rules of evidence 
which are very different from ours, and to the fact that in general 
French courts do not punish these crimes as severely as American 
and English courts do. 

IV. The discipline of the Senegalese Tirailleurs was not always 
good as evidenced by the refusal of some of them to get aboard 
transports, at Marseille when ordered to Syria. 

Henry T. Allen. 
The Secretary of State, 

Washington, D. C. 

Appendix VI. 

CoBLENz, August 19, 1920. 
Secretary of State, 

WasJiington, D. C: 
In a communication from the French high commissioner to the 
general commanding the French Army of occupation the former 
requests that instructions be given all members of that Army con- 
cerning their relations with and attitude toward German civilians. 
The French general has adopted the suggestion, and by means of 
conferences, orders, and schools in the units of his command, is 
instructing all ofhceis and men that the occupying forces are not in 
Germany to provoke the Germans but as a guaranty that the terms 
of the treaty shall be carried out and that all members of the Army 
must be dignified, courteous, and just, thus setting the example to 
the German population of tolerance in order that good will and mutual 
respect may be established and promoted and ill will and hatred over- 
come. This is most encouraging and hopeful and should be pro- 
ductive of great good. This has been the governing principle of the 
American occupation, and since coming to the commission I have 
urged the application of this principle throughout the entire occupied 
region. Millerand has heartily approved the action of the French 
high commissioners and of the commanding general. Recently 
French relations have been more antagonistic than at any other 
period since the signing of the peace treaty. 

Allen . 

Appendix VII. 

June 19, 1920. 
American Mission, 

Berlin {Germany). 

Your 625, June 15, 11 a. m. 

Department is in receipt of frequent protests from various organiza- 
tions and individuals against conduct of French troops in occupied 
region, particularly alleged mistreatment of German women by 



14 COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 

French block tToops. The wording of these protests suggests that 
they are inspired by a propaganda agency and are based on reports 
in German press. Department assumes that you are not in a position 
to deiinitely determine the facts in the matter but requests your 
opinion. Pk^ase forward by mail press clippings and other informa- 
tion you may be able to obtain on the subject. 

Colby. 

Appendix IX. 
No. 464. July 16, 1920. 

The Secretary of State, 

Washington. 

Sir: Adverting to my dispatch No. 442, of July 5, and to my tele- 
grams Nos. 806 and 807, of eJuly 12, and No. 812, of July 15, 1 have the 
honor to transmit herewith a translation of a newspaper account of 
the so-called American protest meeting against the use by France of 
colored troops in the occupied Rhineland area, held in Berlin on the 
evening of July 14. I beg likewise to inclose a copy of the issue of 
the European Press (formerly the Continental Times) dated July 9, 
which contains an article by Rutledge Rutherford announcing the 
meeting in question. This article states that the American speakers 
were to be Col. Edwin Emerson, Miss Ray Beveridge, Hermann 
George Scheffauer, Edith Talbot Scheffauer, Lora Vincent, John 
De Kay, Rutledge Rutherford, and Agatha M. Bullitt. The three 
last-named persons did not actually appear, however, although 
messages were read from Messrs. De Kay and Rutherford. Other 
than these Americans, the only speaker was a German woman from 
the Rhineland; but messages were read from E. D. Morel, Henri 
Barbusse, Jean Longuet, and others. 

A member of the commission who attended the meeting informs 
me that the large auditorium of the university was crowded long be- 
fore the meeting opened, and that the audience, composed largely of 
women, was most enthusiastic. The newspaper account does not, 
however, give an accurate impression of the tone adopted by the 
speakers, inasmuch as mention of the bitterly anti-French and anti- 
American character of the addresses is apparently omitted, whereas 
it was expression of these sentiments which created the greatest ap- 
plause. In fact, the meeting took on more the character of a violent 
chauvinistic gathering than a protest against the black troops. Miss 
Beveridge and Mr. Scheffauer were particularly vehement in their 
attacks on President Wilson and the United States Government and 
devoted most of their time to assailing America for her entrance into 
the war, while Col. Emerson directed his thrusts chiefly at France. 
It is interesting to note that Miss Beveridge, who has now spoken more 
than once on this subject, is invariably introduced as one who has 
done much for German children by aiding the work of the American 
Quakers in Germany. The head of the Quaker mission in Berlin 
informs me, however, that Miss Beveridge has not now and has never 
had any connection with their activities, in spite of her repeated 
efforts to become associated with them, and that her persistence and 
such mistatements as that referred to above have caused them great 
embarrassment. 



COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 15 

During the course of the meeting, letters were read from Mrs. 
Bayard Taylor and Prof. Thomas C. Hall, but I am inclined to believe 
that the writers were not acquainted with the circumstances under 
which the meeting was held. 

(Signed) Ellis Loring Dresel, 

American Commissioner. 



January 31, 1921. 
Hon. Stephen G. Porter, 

House of Representatives. 
Sir: Referring to my letter of January 17, 1921, concerning the 
propaganda being carried on as to the conduct of the French black 
troops in the occupied territory of Germany, I have the honor to 
inclose for your information a paraphrase of a telegram received from 
the American ambassador in Paris giving the official statement as 
to the number and origin of the French troops of occupation at the 
present time. 

I have the honor to be, sir. 
Your obedient servant, 

Bainbridge Colby. 

[Telegram from American Ambassador at Paris, Jan. 29, 1921.] 

The total number of troops in the French Army of occupation was 
86,000 in December; 16,386 of this number were Moroccans and 
Algerians and 3,224 were Malgaches. The remainder were white. 
The figures for January are approximately the same. 

Properly speaking, there are no black troops. The Moroccans and 
Algerians are Arabs of the Mussulman religion and are entirely dis- 
tinct from the Negro race. The Malagaches are Malays from Mada- 
gascar. 

Incidents occurring between these colored troops and the natives 
of the occupied district, and which have been investigated by French 
military authorities, have been in the proportion of 1 to 1,594 men. 
About one-fourth of such cases have resulted in condemnations of 
from 30 days to 10 years' imprisonment, according to the gravity of 
the charge. The remaining cases have been dismissed on account 
of inability to substantiate charges or because of a lack of good faith 
on the part of German authorities who brought charges. 

The French Government has made no attempt to officially disprove 
the accusations concerning the behavior of the troops. It has, how- 
ever, unofficially supplied facts and figures through its press agencies 
to various countries. So far as I am able to ascertain, the recent 
behavior of these troops has been on an average with the conditions 
above reported. 

The delay on the part of the foreign office in supplying this infor- 
mation after several requests was not due to lack of interest, but to 
difficulty in obtaining figures. That office has promised further infor- 
mation within a few days, which I shall forward as soon as it is 
received. 

Wallace. 



16 



COLORED TROOPS IN THE FRENCH ARMY. 



February 11, 1921. 
Hon. Stephen G. Porter, 

House of Representatives. 

Sir: Again reverting to my letter of January 17, 1921, in regard to 
the House joint resolution No. 433, concerning French colored troops 
in occupied Germany, I beg to refer to Appendix X of that letter, 
which was a photostat copy of a leaflet entitled " The Black Evil," and 
bearing the American flag at the top. This matter was brought to the 
attention of the American commissioner in Berlin, with instructions to 
make inquiries in regard to its origin. 

I am now in receipt of a telegram from Mr. Dresel stating that the 
minister for foreign affairs, Mr. Simons, assures him '^emphatically 
that the foreign ofhce has had nothing to do with this propaganda, 
of which he utterly disapproves as injurious to Germany." Mr. 
Simons further stated that if he could discover who was financially 
responsible for this leaflet he would insist on these activities being 
stopped. 

I beg to send this information to you as pertinent to the subject of 
joint resolution No. 433, which is being examined by your committee. 

I have the honor to be, sir. 
Your obedient servant, 

Norman H. Davis. 

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